Thursday, March 10, 2011

The unexpected

Yesterday I had a chance to speak with all of our 560 students in the gym before school started. I do this once a month to allow the staff the opportunity to collaborate for an hour, essentially providing a late start for all of our students without having to change bus arrival or parent drop off. Most of the time I am in the gym alone and have a chance to speak about a variety of topics- rules, responsibilties, trust, resolutions, friendship, and opportunity. Yesterday we discussed opportunities. I finished by reading "Oh, the Places You'll Go" by Dr. Seuss as a culmination of opportunity and to celebrate National Read Aloud Day. This was when the first unexpected event occurred. One student, an 8th grader, who is at times challenged behaviorally, volunteered to help me by sharing the pictures with the students while I read. His involvement allowed for the presentation to end on a very positive note.
As principal I often have to focus on negative issues and this can be draining. During my presentation, I spoke about sharing good things with me. I was in an 8th grade math classroom at the end of the day and a student came up to me with a piece of paper. This was my second unexpected event. This student has rarely interacted with me unless I have initiated the conversation. On the piece of paper was written his score for a speech he had given earlier in the day. He was proud of his score, 37/40 points, and wanted to share it with me. I was later able to speak to his mother about how his son had helped to make my day.
Sometimes the unexpected can ruin your day. Yesterday the unexpected made my day.